By Charmaine Ndlela
President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared 4 November 2026 a public holiday to allow South Africans to participate in the Local Government Elections.
The declaration was made in terms of Section 2A of the Public Holidays Act, with Wednesday, 4 November declared a public holiday throughout the country in connection with the elections.
South Africans will head to voting stations to elect representatives to municipal councils across the country.
The election is expected to be highly contested, with 142,072 candidates set to compete for 10,526 council seats.
According to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), 546 of the 732 political parties registered at various levels have nominated candidates for the elections, meaning about 75% of registered parties are participating.
The candidate nomination period closed at 5pm on 28 August, with political parties and independent candidates submitting nominations through the IEC’s online system and manually at its offices.
The IEC is expected to publish the final list of candidates on 16 September, followed by the issuing of Certificates of Candidacy on 25 September.
However, the final candidate list is already the subject of a legal challenge by the African National Congress (ANC), which is contesting the IEC’s decision to exclude some of its candidates.
The ANC filed papers with the Electoral Court in Bloemfontein on Monday, challenging the IEC’s decision not to register its candidates in six municipalities across KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and the Free State.
The party is asking the court to set aside the IEC’s decision and direct the commission to treat its party lists and ward candidate nominations as having been timeously, lawfully and validly submitted in terms of sections 14 and 17 of the Municipal Electoral Act.
The ANC also wants the affected party lists and ward nominations included in the elections scheduled for 4 November.
The court challenge adds to political tensions ahead of the elections, with parties and independent candidates competing for control of municipalities and influence over local government decisions and service delivery.
The declaration of election day as a public holiday is intended to enable eligible voters to participate without the constraints of normal working commitments.
For the IEC, the immediate focus will be on finalising candidate lists and ensuring the election timetable remains on track.
With election day confirmed as a public holiday, South Africans have 56 days to prepare to go to the polls on 4 November.
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